Nicholas Poneros is a good man, an honorable man, a kind man who became a father figure to a niece, a giving man who gave toys to needy children at Christmas, an upstanding man who tirelessly served his church and his community, according to his friends and family.

He's also a man who stole more than $100,000 from the very people who knew him and trusted him — elderly people from his church and others who were customers at the Manheim Township bank he managed, a prosecutor said.

Judge Joseph Madenspacher Tuesday had to balance the yin and yang of a seemingly good man who committed criminal acts when sentencing the 66-year-old Manheim Township man for theft and forgery.

Madenspacher ordered Poneros to serve 4- to 23 months in Lancaster County Prison, four years of probation and 100 hours of community service.

The judge noted that Poneros took advantage of the very trust that he had cultivated in the community — trust that was so strong that one longtime friend said he was "flabbergasted" to read about Poneros' charges in the newspaper.

And Poneros also took a substantial amount of money to pay off his own credit card debts, the judge said, telling him, "You took the easy way out."

The prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Deborah Muzereus, called Poneros' actions "reprehensible."

Manheim Township Police Detective Robert Beck, said, "This is purely a crime of greed."

As he sentenced Poneros, Madenspacher said, "There is a mentality among white-collar criminals that if you are caught, all you have to do is pay it back. There has to be more than that, Mr. Poneros."

"In this case, I think incarceration is warranted," the judge said. "A lesser sentence depreciates the seriousness of this offense."

Poneros, a thin man with close-cropped, graying hair and glasses, apologized to his victims before he was sentenced.

One of them, an older woman, had risen haltingly to her feet at the beginning of the court proceeding to say she was mystified by Poneros' actions.

"Nick and I were good friends," she said. "I never expected him to hurt me this way. He really hurt me. It took a long time to get over this."

Another target was a church endowment fund, from which Poneros took $30,0000.

In all, Poneros took $110,301 from eight customer accounts from 2005 to 2007, when he was manager of the M&T Bank on the Manheim Pike in Manheim Township.

Poneros repaid the money in full before he was charged, later confessed to police and cooperated with their investigation.

Poneros said he should never have done something he wouldn't want other people to find out about later.

"I realize your most important asset is your reputation," he said, as family members wiped their eyes in the courtroom, "and I have ruined my reputation with my actions."

Supporters, all from the local Greek community, spoke highly of Poneros. Several pleaded with Madenspacher to spare him from a jail sentence.

Defense attorney Christopher Patterson noted that emotions were high in the courtroom.

The trust and love people had for Poneros "is what makes this all the more hurtful," he said.

The Rev. Alexander Veronis of the Annunciation Orthodox Church said he has known Poneros for years and always found him to be honorable.

Poneros made bad mistakes, Veronis acknowledged. As his minister, he heard his confession and assured him that God is loving and forgiving, Veronis said, noting, "That is the business of the church."

Now it was the business of the court to decide what happened to Poneros, Veronis said, but noted, "All my relationships with Nick Poneros have been positive."

Irene Mavrides said that Poneros helped her business as it got started with his banking advice.

Why he made a bad decision, she said, she did not know. But again, she only knew him as a caring, good man.

George Yelagotes said, "We don't know what caused him to do what he did. But I don't think a harsh sentence would do anything for anyone. I don't think he deserves it."

No one was looking for vengeance against Poneros, Muzereus said. But, the prosecutor noted, "This defendant didn't borrow money. He stole it."

E-mail: cstauffer@lnpnews.com